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Donald Macleod explores the early years in Benjamin Britten's creative story

Benjamin Britten was one of the most influential British composers of the 20th century, with celebrated works such as 'Peter Grimes', 'Friday Afternoons' or 'A Simple Symphony'. Music infused his very first moments in life and he started to develop his musical instincts from a very early age. Many of his future masterpieces can be traced back to the inspiration of his youth. This week, Donald Macleod explores these crucial early years in Britten's creative story, from his birth under the star of St Cecilia to his departure for America at 25 years old.

Music featured:

Hymn to St Cecilia, Op 27
Four Sea Interludes, Op 33a (from 'Peter Grimes')
A Charm of Lullabies, Op 41 (arr for voice and orchestra by Colin Matthews)
Five Waltzes
Beware! Three Early Songs (No 1, 'Beware')
On This Island, Op 11 (No 3, 'Seascape')
Psalm 150, Op 67
Quatre chansons françaises
Suite for harp in C major, Op 83
A Hymn to the Virgin
A Walden Trio: Christmas Song of the Women
The Birds
Twelve Variations on a Theme, for piano
Three Divertimenti for String Quartet (2nd mvt)
Sinfonietta, Op 1 (1st mvt)
Phantasy, Op 2, for oboe, violin, viola and violoncello (1st & 2nd mvt)
Holiday Diary, Op 5
A Boy Was Born, Op 3 (Variation I, 'Lullay, Jesu')
Simple Symphony, Op 4
Mont Juic (co-composed with Lennox Berkeley) (4th mvt)
Friday Afternoons (excerpts)
Suite for Violin and Piano, Op 6 (3rd & 4th mvts)
Train Sequence, from 'The King's Stamp'
Percussion Sequence, from 'Night Mail' (text by W.H. Auden)
Love Music, from 'Love from a Stranger'
Russian Funeral
Soirées musicales, Op 9
Lullaby for a retired colonel'
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op 64 (excerpt)
Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op 10
The Company of Heaven ( Part 3, No 7, ‘A Thousand, Thousand Gleaming Fires’)
Piano Concerto, Op 13 (1st mvt)
Les Illuminations, Op 18 (on poems by Arthur Rimbaud)

Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Julien Rosa for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Audio Wales & West

For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) /programmes/m0027tjp

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z